German WW1 Propaganda

Even before their declaration of war on August 1, 1914, the Germans had already begun work on their own semi-official propaganda machinery, which was loosely spread throughout the various branches of German government. Early in the war German journalist Matthias Erzberger established the Zentralstelle für Auslandsdienst (Central Office for Foreign Services), which concerned itself with distributing propaganda to neutral nations (especially after the invasion of Belgium). The German government also heavily employed the Wolff Telegraph Bureau as a means of international propaganda. After the British cut Germany’s undersea telegraph cables, the Germans relied upon their wireless Nauen station (the most powerful transmitting station in the world) to continue a constant feed of pro-German news reports to the world.

An interesting German propaganda technique was the use of mobile cinemas. These transportable film machines would be sent to the German front line to provide entertainment to the weary German troops. Scattered throughout the featured films, German propagandists had inserted short newsreels that would depict recent events in a decidedly pro-German light.